Bipartisan Elected Officials, Veterans and Conservation Champions Rally to Save LWCF before 2019

Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) champions in the House and Senate rallied on the steps of the U.S. Capitol with conservation leaders on November 29,2018 calling on Congress to reauthorize and fully fund America’s most important conservation and recreation program before the end of the year.

"Two months ago, America lost one of its best conservation tools,” said Lynn Scarlett, Former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Interior and head of External Affairs at The Nature Conservancy. "It’s too important to continue leaving its future in doubt. Now more than ever, we have the bipartisan momentum to get LWCF the permanent reauthorization and full funding it deserves. For the protection of our lands, waters and the benefits their conservation bring to communities and our economy, now is the time to save LWCF.”

The Land and Water Conservation Fund helps protect national parks, expand outdoor recreation opportunities and bolster local economies, all at no cost to the American taxpayer.

"Since it was enacted 54 years ago, the Land and Water Conservation Fund has helped protect many of the nation’s most popular national parks, forests, and public lands,” said Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA). “LWCF has pumped billions of dollars into the outdoor economy and provided millions of good jobs."

“The Land and Water Conservation Fund remains the single most successful conservation program in American history,” said Senator Richard Burr (R-NC). “Nearly every congressional district in the country benefits from its funding – at no cost to the taxpayer – and millions enjoy the parks, ballfields, and landscapes it maintains every day. My colleagues and I will continue to push for a permanent reauthorization of this important program.

A national poll released in September showed that 74 percent of Americans support reauthorization and funding of the LWCF. The historically bipartisan program has received widespread support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

“As veterans who are elected officials, the freedom to recreate in our public lands is something we continue to fight for—for all Americans. Failure to permanently reauthorize the bipartisan Land and Water Conservation Fund will be a self-inflicted wound that jeopardizes livelihoods connected to the multi-billion dollar outdoor recreation industry it generates, and more importantly, for our children who rely on these funds to protect the outdoor spaces we all love,” said Alex Cornell du Houx, President of the Elected Officials to Protect America’s Lands, Marine veteran and former state representative.